Broomfield man with gun arrested after police try for hours to coax him from home on Hemlock Way

Residents on Hemlock Way in Broomfield were on alert Saturday night as police tried to negotiate with an uncooperative man they believed had a weapon.

The man, 46-year-old Arthur Hopping was arrested around midnight, after police obtained an arrest warrant and a search warrant for his house in the 100 block of Hemlock Way, according to Broomfield Sgt. Steve Griebel.

The arrest brought to an end a chain of events set in motion hours earlier, when police first received a request for a welfare check at the home, after Hopping sent unsettling text messages to his estranged wife and his mother, Griebel said. When officers arrived at the house, Hopping was uncooperative.

Officers left, but were back about an hour later after a neighbor reported gunshots at the home, Griebel said. Again, Hopping was uncooperative and would not come out of the home. Because a weapon was believed to have been discharged, the SWAT team was called out around 6:25 p.m., Griebel said.

For several hours, police tried to connect with Hopping, and he finally surrendered without incident when the warrants were issued shortly before midnight, Griebel said.

After the SWAT team was called, officers went door to door to notify neighbors of the situation, and those who live on the street and were trying to return home were prevented from doing so, Griebel said.

Hopping was arrested and taken to the Broomfield County jail.

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Possible charges will likely will be based on the gunshot or gunshots he fired, but there could be more depending on what detectives determine on Monday, Griebel said.

No one else was in the home at which Hopping was arrested and no one was hurt, Griebel said.

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